Basic as it might sound, water is arguably the most important nutrient in your diet. You can only survive a few days without it whereas you could survive for weeks without food. Drinking too little water or losing too much through intense sweating impairs your ability to exercise and perform at your maximum potential. At the same time, extreme dehydration can result in severe medical complications.

It can be difficult to know whether you are adequately hydrated and there is sometimes the common thought that if you are not thirsty, you are adequately hydrated. For a sedentary individual, this is a reasonably good mechanism for maintaining hydration. Unfortunately, it works too slowly for athletes and active individuals, and you are already dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty. Dehydration can have a wide range of effects, from minor deficits in performance to life-threatening heat illnesses. Performance can be dramatically affected by relatively minor dehydration.

Rule of thumb

If you start to feel thirsty, experience an increase in your heart rate, experience heat illness symptoms, or muscle cramps - chances are good that you are already dehydrated. Being that the main reason for dehydration is forgetfulness, one of the best ways to avoid dehydration is to schedule the consumption of fluids throughout the day, with a little more before you start exercising, and then during your workout – with the amount depending on the duration and intensity of your workout

To keep it simple, you can also check the color and quantity of your urine. If your urine is very dark and scanty, it is concentrated and you need to drink more fluids. When your urine is pale yellow, your body should be within normal water balance. If you are taking vitamin supplements, volume is a better indicator than color in this case.